Connor's Clothing
by Cehsja
Summary: When Abby hurts herself by tripping on the items Connor's left in the living room, she confiscates his belongings for a week. Only, his sweater is so comfy that she just can't bring herself to give it back. One Shot, set season 3ish


It was Connor's fault, Abby decided, if she was unreasonably mad at him. She knew that she wouldn't be as hard on him if she wasn't so exhausted, but it's not like she hadn't given him warning after warning.

She hadn't been sleeping well for the past few weeks. She kept having uncomfortable dreams about her childhood and waking up in a cold sweat every few hours. Connor wasn't responsible for that of course, but he was responsible for the mess in the living room and the hat on the floor that had caused her to trip and bash her elbow on the coffee table. Still, if she hadn't been so tired, she probably would have just lectured him and threatened him and then gone about her own business like usual. Today though, the exhaustion had caught up with her and she stormed around the room picking up his stuff and throwing it all into a box.

She's told him time and time again that she was going to confiscate his belongings or throw them out, if he didn't put them away. At the moment she was mad enough to actually toss them, but she knew it wouldn't be right. She did, however, donate the offending hat to Rex before carrying the rest of his stuff into her bedroom to hide it. He'd have to do some pretty good begging, apologizing, and quite a few chores to get it back, she decided.

Having done so, she immediately felt better, as though she had let off enough steam to think straight again and she returned to the living room for a quick workout while she waited for Connor to come home and discover his missing items.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Connor entered the apartment and his heart sunk immediately. All his things were gone and he hoped that Abby had only cleaned them up and not packed his bags for him to send him out into the streets. He knew his mess had been a bit more than normal, but he couldn't help it. He'd been planning on cleaning it up when they'd gotten the anomaly call and he'd had to rush out the door leaving it as it was.

"Abs?" he asked tentatively, "Where's all me stuff?"

"Gone," Abby answered coldly without looking away from her punching bag. "I tripped on it and hurt my elbow. You can have it back when I say you can."

Connor breathed a sigh of relief that she'd only hidden it, but then he felt a rush of concern for her. Abby wasn't usually _this _mad at him, she only pretended and he knew it. "Abby, I am sorry. Is your elbow alright?"

"Fine," she replied, finally stopping her punches to look at him. The look she gave him was one of curiosity, and Connor wondered what that meant. He didn't speak though, not really sure what sorts of things would set her off on him at the moment.

Abby pulled her gloves off and then turned away from him, heading toward her room. "I'm tired, Con. I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight," he called after her, but she didn't answer before she shut the door forcefully.

Connor plonked down on the couch, annoyed with himself for making her angry and vowing to make it up to her in the morning. He imagined he could probably win her over with some breakfast in bed or something like that. After all, he was still Connor, he still had his charm and he knew that even if she was mad, she wouldn't resist him for too long. She pushed him away all the time, and Connor never understood why, because he knew full well that she fancied him. The thought of it made his heart flutter and he couldn't quite believe it was true, but he'd been noticing the way she looked at him lately, and the way she always stayed at his side at work, often close enough that he'd accuse her of invading his personal space if he hadn't enjoyed it so much.

He glanced around to look for Rex, hoping for some company while he played his video games, and groaned when he noticed Rex sleeping curled up inside his best fedora.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Abby tossed and turned until she woke herself up again. She felt short of breath and shaky from another bad dream and she turned on the small lamp on her bedside night table, trying to get a hold of herself. As she sat up and the blankets fell from her, she shivered, realising how cold it was. She debated with herself for a few minutes as to whether or not it was cold enough to justify getting out of bed and walking barefoot across the probably colder floor, just to find another blanket or some warmer pyjamas, when she noticed the sleeve of one of Connor's pullover sweaters sticking out of the box on the night table and perfectly within reach from where she was. She grinned and extracted it from amongst the other items and pulled it over her head.

The sweater was wool and ridiculously ugly, purple, orange and quite fuzzy, but it didn't itch which surprised her. Actually, it was rather soft and whilst it was way too big for her, coming nearly to her knees she supposed, if she'd been standing, it was warm and comfy and, though she'd never admit it to him, she felt comforted by the fact that it still smelled like him.

She wasn't mad at Connor anymore; she never could stay mad at him long. She'd probably give his things back sooner rather than later if he apologized and made her breakfast and did the dishes afterward. She'd felt the anger drain from her when he'd been more concerned about her elbow than about his missing belongings. Smiling to herself, Abby cuddled up inside the sweater and for once she fell asleep peacefully, imagining that it wasn't just the scent of Connor but Connor himself holding her safe.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Connor hummed happily to himself because he knew that Abby was going to love the breakfast he'd made her. He'd gotten up extra early to get it done on time because Abby always woke up early. He'd made her some Eggs Benedict and a mug of steaming tea and then added some flowers to the tray that he intended to bring to her in bed. He creaked open the door to her room cautiously and then almost dropped it in his surprise. Abby was still sound asleep, even though the morning sun was coming through her window and making the room light, and she was wearing his favourite sweater.

He tiptoed back out and placed the tray on the kitchen counter, wondering what to do about that, because he really didn't think she'd want him to know. Personally, he thought it was cute and he liked the idea that she'd worn it to bed, but he had a feeling that if she knew he'd seen her, she'd get upset and embarrassed and then act all mad at him because that's how she let out any emotion, really.

To his relief, he heard her phone go off a moment later and knew it'd wake her up. Sure enough, about five minutes later she came out of the bedroom, the sweater having been discarded, and Connor grinned at her.

"I made you breakfast, Abs!"

Abby narrowed her eyes at him. "If this is some silly bribe to get your stuff back, you'll have to do more than that."

"I know, I know," Connor said with a grin, as he watched her hop up onto one of the barstools and begin to eat. "I have to apologize profusely, and I _am _sorry, Abs, and probably do the washing up for awhile too, right?"

Abby nodded, "Sounds about right. Okay, here's the deal: you make me breakfast like this every day for a week and do the washing up for the same amount of time, and then I'll give you your items back. Though you'll have to talk to Rex about the hat; I think he's taken a liking to it."

"Great, now I've gotta bribe the lizard too," Connor muttered sarcastically with a smile. "What do you suppose _he'll _have me do?"

"Probably he needs his cage cleaned out," Abby replied quickly.

Connor scrunched up his face in an expression that said he was thoroughly repulsed by the idea, and Abby looked at her plate to hide her smile, because she knew he'd do it anyway.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

The week went by slowly, Connor thought, because amongst the other things that Abby had confiscated, every single one of his video games had been in that box. He'd tried doing extra chores with all his spare time to see if Abby would return them earlier, but to no avail. He frowned at that, because usually Abby gave into him much quicker. He started to wonder a bit if she still fancied him and the thought bothered him until he realised what the issue was while sneaking into her room one night to look for Rex. Abby was still sleeping with his sweater. He grinned at the idea that she wasn't giving the stuff back because she wanted to keep it longer herself, and he quit asking after that.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Abby hated the thought that she'd have to give up Connor's sweater soon. It was so cozy and she felt so safe in it. To be honest, she'd been sleeping better. She hadn't had a nightmare since the day she'd started wearing it to bed. She also knew it was a favourite of his though and he'd expect it back in the morning. She'd tried not wearing it a couple times, but she always found herself reaching for it. She wondered vaguely when she'd become so pathetic and comforted herself with the fact that Connor didn't know.

When morning came though, she suddenly found that she just couldn't bear to part with it. Thinking quickly, she hid it beneath her pillow and carried the rest of the items out to the kitchen where she was happy to find that Connor had still made her breakfast.

"Okay, Connor," she said. "Here are your things, as promised. But if you leave them lying around again, I'll toss them in the trash next time."

"Noted," Connor replied, sure that she'd never do that. Then he grinned and took his box and ran to the living room with it to load up his favourite game.

"Oh Oblivion," he said as he pulled the game case out from the bottom of the box, "How I've missed you."

"Connor you're pathetic!" he heard Abby shout from the kitchen and winced at the fact that she'd overheard, but he didn't reply because something else had also caught his attention and he grinned as he dug through the box and noticed that his sweater wasn't there.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Connor wasn't sure if he should mention the sweater or not. He didn't want to take it away from Abby since she seemed to like it so much, but on the other hand, it was his favourite and it'd be weird if he _didn't _notice it was missing. He thought about it for the next few days, but then finally he couldn't quite contain himself, so on Monday morning he called down over the loft railing to her while she was making herself a cup of tea.

"Hey, Abs, when you took my stuff, what'd you do with me favourite sweater? You know, the knit colourful one? It wasn't in my box and I wanted to wear it today."

He saw the way Abby suddenly tensed up and froze. Then after a moment she turned and looked toward him, but avoided his eyes, "I don't have it, Con. You probably lost it in that mess in your room somewhere. I never took it."

Connor frowned at the outright lie, but the incredibly guilty and ashamed look on her face almost made him feel sorry for her and he wondered why she was so attached to the sweater that she felt the need to keep it for herself. He wished she'd just fess up so he could give it to her properly.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, giving her the chance to correct the lie, but she just nodded and then scurried away to her bedroom and slammed the door.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

A week and a half went by and Connor didn't bring it up again, but he'd noticed that Abby wasn't quite herself since she'd fibbed to him. She kept looking at him guiltily and doing stuff for him like playing video games with him, buying his favourite treats, and cooking his favourite meals. Connor had the feeling she was trying to make up for her actions and maybe justify keeping the sweater too as payment for everything she'd done. He tried not to take advantage of the situation too much, but it was a bit of fun sometimes and it was probably the first time he'd made it over a week without getting dish duty at least once.

A phone call from the ARC at midnight changed everything. Abby's phone had died and Jenny couldn't get a hold of her so she told Connor to make sure Abby got the notice that there was an anomaly too. Connor hadn't thought much of it until after he'd barged into her bedroom and shook her awake. It wasn't until Abby jumped out of bed, still wearing the sweater, and then stopped short that Connor even realised. He'd been too focused on the anomaly, but Abby's sudden embarrassment made him notice her predicament. He wondered if he should pretend to have not seen, but then he realised he was staring at the sweater and she was watching him and as their eyes met, he knew they both knew.

Instead, he opted to just not say anything and let her get away with it. She looked pretty upset as it was, so he quickly looked away and said, "By the way, Abs, your phone is dead or something. Jenny couldn't reach you on it."

Abby nodded absentmindedly, her fingers fiddling with the sweater hem and Connor excused himself from the room so she could change.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

They didn't speak about the sweater on their way to work, but Connor noticed that Abby was avoiding him. She seemed preoccupied and embarrassed around him and Connor was kicking himself for letting her get away with everything in the first place. They had to talk soon because Abby was clearly upset about the entire thing and he didn't want her avoiding him from now on.

He didn't realise just how preoccupied _he _was by Abby until Becker finally yelled at them _both_ for not doing their jobs right and sent them home, pulling a few men from his back up team to take their places. Connor winced at that, but he also left. He knew it was important for the team to be on their A-Game at all times, and any mistakes could mean a fatality, not necessarily his own. Abby protested more than he did, and Connor knew that she was trying to save face in front of him. He felt badly that she was having such a rough day over something so silly, but it wasn't _his _fault, was it? She could've just asked him for the sweater in the first place.

Abby drove them home in silence, but as soon as they were through the door she scowled at him as though it _were_ all his fault after all. He'd have expected her to either avoid him, or apologize to him, but instead she stomped her foot as though she were mad and said firmly, "I'm keeping it."

Connor frowned, "What?"

"You know what I mean, Connor. I'm keeping your sweater. It's your fault anyway for not putting it away and I confiscated it. You're just lucky I gave the rest of the stuff back."

Connor closed his eyes for a moment, thinking carefully what the best way to respond would be, and then he opened them and found her expression had changed from angry to almost… lost. She looked vulnerable and upset and nervous. He reached for her hand and nodded with a smile, "Okay."

Abby let her eyes meet his, questioningly. "That's it? Just okay? You're not going to yell at me? Or demand I give it back? Or hate me for lying to you?"

Connor's eyes opened wider in surprise. "_Hate _you? Abby, of course not. I could never hate you. Don't you know that?"

Abby dropped her eyes and shrugged and he noticed the way her eyes suddenly watered, so he pulled her closer into her arms, holding her close.

"Oh, Abs," he whispered to her. "It's alright, yeah? I don't mind you having it."

"I lied to you," she muttered.

"I know, Abby. I knew you had it all along, I never minded. I was just hoping you'd _tell _me you wanted it."

"Why didn't you say something?" she demanded then, pulling away from him and trying to look annoyed and angry, but she was shaking and Connor knew she was upset with herself and not him for once.

"Because, you didn't seem to want me to know," he replied. Then he hesitated, "Abby, you used to say you hated that sweater."

She cried for real then and Connor moved them to the couch so they could sit before draping an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. "Connor, I-I still think it's ugly as hell, but I need it. I keep having bad dreams and…" she hesitated, knowing she'd as much admitted her feelings if she said the next bit, but also knowing she owed him the truth. "and it smells like you and helps me sleep." She finished lamely, hoping he wouldn't think her as pathetic as she thought herself.

So that's why she'd worn it. Connor felt like grinning, but knew she wouldn't appreciate it just then. Instead he rubbed her back gently and asked, "Dreams about what, Abs?"

"Stuff from my childhood. You know about most of it. But lately it keeps coming back to haunt me."

"Abby, you know you can come to me if you want to talk, right? Even if it's the middle of the night"

"Can I?"

Connor frowned at the fact that she didn't know it. "Abby, of course! Anyhow, it's your flat, ain't it?" He placed his lips firmly on the side of her forehead, giving her a comforting kiss. "Abby…" he said, but then stopped, not really knowing what else to say to her to make her feel better.

It seemed to help though, because she smiled and put her arms around his waist. "Connor…" she replied teasingly, in the same tone.

Connor grinned back at her, "Better now?"

She nodded, but made no effort to move from her position of cuddling into his side.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Connor had known for ages that Abby fancied him as much as he fancied her and he'd now realised that she needed him which made him feel a wee bit guilty about the fact that he hadn't pursued anything with her in a long time. It was for selfish reasons on his part, he hadn't liked being cut down by her all the time and honestly her reactions to him had hurt him a lot more than he liked to let on. He didn't know why she did it when she liked him, but she did.

Now it was different though. Abby couldn't even sleep properly, she'd said, without his scent. And he used that thought to justify his actions in his mind as he snuck into her bedroom just after midnight, because honestly, he needed her too. He smiled when he found her sleeping contently wrapped in his sweater. He watched her a moment before climbing into her bed and gathering her close in his arms. Abby sighed in her sleep and snuggled into his chest.

Connor lay still for a long time, but finally he couldn't resist a kiss to her forehead, and the motion startled her awake.

"Oi!" she cried suddenly as she sprang up, still half a sleep but quickly switching into what Connor referred to as her "attack mode".

"Abby, it's me!" Connor quickly spoke, holding her in place before she could really punch his lights out.

Abby groaned, still feeling rather shaky from her sudden fright out of sleep. "Connor! What the hell are you doing?"

"You said you sleep better if you smell me, so I'm giving you good dreams."

He might not have been able to see in the dark, but he could sense her eye roll. "Con-_nor!" _ she complained, "You've about given me a heart attack! This could be about the most idiotic thing you've done to date, yeah?"

"Yeah," Connor agreed, but he was grining because Abby had settled back down into his arms again as she spoke.

"You should leave, Con," she murmured sleepily, her hand clutching his arm tightly to prevent him doing just that, though Connor doubted she'd noticed her own action.

"I should stay," he corrected her.

"Should you? I don't know why I'd let you do that," she whispered in the dark. "Why should you stay?"

"Because, Abby," he hesitated and then took a deep breath, knowing he was right about this, "because we love each other, Abby."

"Do we?" Abby sounded almost asleep, but Connor knew she was still alert enough to know what he'd said.

"Mmm-hmm," he agreed.

"Maybe we do," she admitted before drifting off completely.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Abby grinned when she woke up and found Connor still there, holding her protectively. She'd been scared of pursuing a relationship with him for so long, but somehow he'd made it easy and safe for her. She knew well he'd remember their conversation the night before, but she also knew he'd be nervous and skittish around her when he woke up if she didn't confront him on it right away. Connor's bravery never truly lasted long.

She kissed his cheek and got out of bed quickly, dressing in black leggings and an oversized white sweater. Then she went up to the loft and dug through Connor's items until she found a black scarf and fedora to complete her look.

She was in the kitchen when she heard him getting up and shuffling awkwardly out of the bedroom, but she didn't turn around immediately. She heard his quiet exclamation of surprise when he saw her and could almost hear the confusion running through his head. Finally he spoke.

"Abs, I am _so _sorry."

"For what?" Abby asked, turning to him.

"For leaving me stuff out again. I mean, obviously you're confiscating more of my clothing now and I really don't remember leaving it out, but I must have. It looks brill on you though, much better than on me. You should keep those too. Maybe you should just keep all me clothing."

Abby laughed, "And have to deal with you walking around naked all day? No thanks. What would they say at work? But quit fretting, you didn't leave them out. I stole 'em from your room this time."

"Oh," Connor grinned. "Why're you wearing me clothes, Abby?"

"Two reasons. First off, I like the thought of having a piece of you with me all day and second, you say brilliant things to me when you catch me in your clothing."

Connor's face lit up as it dawned on him that she was happy about their night time conversation, but when he spoke he referred to the first item on her short list. "All day? Are you wearing that to work?" He sounded hopeful.

"Yes…" Abby wondered what he was getting at.

"Yay! Then everyone will think you're me girlfriend now and I won't look like such a loser."

"_They'll think?" _Abby pushed her index finger against his chest threateningly. "Connor, if you're going to be crawling into bed with me and telling me that you love me, then I _better _be your girlfriend now!"

Connor grinned, "Right, Abs, that's even more brilliant. You say brilliant things when you wear me clothing too it seems. And I'm not just sayin' that because you scare me a little."

Abby dropped her hand. "Good. Now that that's settled, this would be the part where you kiss me, Con."

Connor reached behind her and removed his hat from her head so it wouldn't get in the way as he happily obliged.


End file.
